Medicaid

An advocacy group for Kansans over 60 will continue to push for Medicaid expansion.

The Silver Haired Legislature targeted expanding Medicaid as a goal for the next Kansas legislative session.

Don Woodard, one of the group’s leaders, says there are thousands of Kansans between the ages of 60 and 65 who fall into a coverage gap. They aren’t old enough to qualify for Medicare, but they make too much to qualify for Medicaid right now.

The overhaul of the Kansas computer system for processing welfare and Medicaid applications recently went through its final implementation phase. State officials say the process went smoothly, especially compared to the system's initial rollout that delayed thousands of Medicaid applications.

This post was updated Wednesday at 10 a.m. to reflect the results of Tuesday night's Senate vote.

Despite misgivings about the closed-door process used to write a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and its potential impact on rural health care providers, Republican U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran joined his Kansas counterpart, Pat Roberts, in voting Tuesday to begin debate on the legislation.

But a short time later, Moran was one of nine GOP senators who voted against a replacement bill backed by Republican leaders.